I read a really interesting article this morning on Liquor.com about how neighborhood bars have filled the void left by churches that have forgotten the parable of the good Samaritan. Most readers know the gist of the story: a Jewish man was beaten nearly to death by robbers and left on the road. A priest and a lawyer, both fellow Jews, walked by and made excuses why they could not possibly come to his aid. Eventually, a Samaritan businessman passed by. Samaritans and Jews were enemies to each other and had been for centuries. Still, this Samaritan not only stopped to help, but he took the beaten man to an inn at the nearest town, paid for all the necessary treatment, and paid in advance for the man’s food and lodging. He told the innkeeper that if it wasn’t enough, he would make up the difference when he passed through on his way home (Luke 10:25-37).
Most of the time we tell this story to remind others to be kind, but that wasn’t the original purpose. In context, Jesus told this parable to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” We’re all pretty good at caring about people who reflect our points of view, cultures, and politics. But the Church is supposed to be a place where people care for each other no matter what the differences might be. Grace means doing everything possible to be at peace with each other while at the same time preferring each other over ourselves (Romans 12:10, 18). Actually, all of Romans 12 is good reading to remind Christians what it means to live in grace.
How does the story of the good Samaritan connect to a story on a website about alcohol? People all over the US are looking for “a place where needs are met, souls become satiated, and inner reflection about their past becomes outward expressions of service and kindness” (Manning, 2022). This should describe the Church, but too often Sunday mornings feel like social clubs or living gossip columns. There ARE churches where community is authentic and made up of different kinds of people, but there are far too many well-known denominations and leaders that spend more time covering up their hypocrisy than they do meeting the needs of their neighbors. When the Church fails to be neighborly, something will fill the void.
“Church is…about building community and a safe space to feel good. It’s about helping people. And that’s exactly what bars do. We create community” (Manning, 2022).
My husband and I have experienced the role of the local bar community ourselves. I took a short-term job that required me to move from my home in Georgia to Las Vegas on my own. I was able to connect with a church that took me in and showed me what love and grace look like. I came home after nine months looking to immerse myself in a Christian community that reflected the multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-generational experience I had in Las Vegas. (And yes, they exist, even in the deep South.)
While I was away, my husband found himself at our favorite Mexican restaurant at least three times a week. Feeling silly at a table, he sat at the bar with all the regulars and became a regular himself. When I returned home, he introduced me to his new community. It took some time (it was 2020-2021 after all), but these regulars have become a community for me as well. Trivia night is our prime time; we are in our 20s and 80s, we are professionals, trades-people, students, and retirees. We represent all interests and expertise. My expertise is religion and literature, with a hint of history and geography. My husband is science, technology, and music from the 70s. Our team, the All-Star Bar, wins with regularity. What connects us is not the beer or the skinny margaritas, but genuine affection for each other. When one of our retirees fell and broke his arm, someone from the group drove him home. When another passed out, a couple of us kept him comfortable while we waited for EMS. (He calls us his angels now.) Most of the group is not religious and as far as I know, my husband and I are the only members of any church. What makes the bar more convivial than a place that is supposed to be a place for the broken-hearted?
It’s something Christians need to think about. Jesus was not advocating a new social club, nor was he interested in forming yet another religious system of traditions and rules. Jesus came to see out the lost and offer something better than any hope from the Law. Jesus ate meals with the most despised people in every town he entered and offered them fulfillment and a place to belong. He required nothing from them except faith that he was who he claimed to be: the long-awaited Messiah, promised by the prophets. Somehow, they understood that in His kingdom their places were secure, they were loved without condition, and they were valued, not for what they did, but because they were created in the image of God.
Grace is available in a lot of places outside the church. Bars have become havens for the lost and lonely. How can the Church begin to be a place of refuge made up of people who authentically live out their faith with grace? How can Christians rise up to be the ones who offer regular and consistent community to those who need it most?
Maybe the better question is, how will I?
Manning, Rich (2022, June 9). The Complicated Journey from Holy Studies to Hospitality. Liquor.com